Rita's aftermath

Let me put this plainly. In spite of its inadequacies at the time of Katrina's hit, the government has not learned anything. Its response to Rita was more immediate only because Katrina had just hit a couple weeks earlier. If a couple months had gone by, another immense disaster would have happened. To realize that, you just have to read the following paragraphs:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency delivered ice, water and packaged meals Wednesday to residents who rode out the storm, but some officials in hard-hit areas criticized the agency's response, with one calling for a commission to examine the emergency response.

In Houston, FEMA closed a disaster relief center just hours after its doors opened when some of the hundreds of hurricane victims in line began fainting in the heat. FEMA officials said they were caught off-guard by the roughly 1,500 people who showed up, but said it would reopen the center Thursday morning.

Local officials, including Port Arthur Mayor Oscar Ortiz and Jefferson County Judge Carl Griffith, said FEMA's response has been inadequate.

So, the hard-hit areas are not happy with FEMA's response. Did FEMA shun the hard work of helping people in the most vulnerable areas and go instead for the easy work? Who did they think would help the people in the hard-hit areas? FEMA was caught off-guard by the people (we're talking about 1,500 people in a city of 4 million,) showing up at a disaster relief center. Are you telling me they thought nobody would show up? Why did they open the center then?

Local officials said FEMA's response was inadequate, and that's just two weeks after the agency showed us its incompetence and was trying to regain its image as a well-oiled machine.

Sorry to break it to you guys, but you suck! If I lived in a coastal area prone to being hit by hurricanes, I'd be worried. A lot. What if there is a series of category 4 and above hurricanes making landfall in quick succession? Who would be able to respond to that emergency? Not FEMA, that's for sure. Who then?

Don't count on Bush solving that problem. He's busy riding his bike.